The Serpent and the Wings of Night Quotes

“Do you want people to think you're a brute?"
He stopped mid-step, eyebrow twitching in an expression that I now had come to know meant, Oraya said something amusing, probably unintentionally. "A brute?"
I didn't know what was funny about my word choice. "Yes. Even when you used it in the feast hall that time, it was all power, no finesse."
"You think I have finesse? That's flattering.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“A slow smile spread over his lips." You hid it because you didn't know you could do it. You threw me out of a window completely by accident. "
This time—Mother damn my face—the blink of shock happened before I could stop it.
"That's not—"
"Look, you are many things, princess. But a good actress is not one of them. Now let's go. We're loosing moonlight."
Goddess fucking damn him, there were so many things I wanted to say—chief of which, You fucking knew and you still gave me that much shit?—but I shut my mouth, drew my blades, and went after him.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“What's wrong?" I asked, alarmed. "Did I hurt you?"
"No, no." She shook her head, a grin spreading across her mouth. "It's just... gods, look at you two! It's amazing!"
"There's no bonding like bonding over murder," Raihn said dryly.
"I'm just so proud," she sighed.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Maybe we've built more of a reputation for ourselves than we expected."
"Even more terrifying than we thought," I said. "We're doing our jobs well."
My cheeks tightened. I was so satisfied that it took me an embarrassingly long time to notice Raihn staring at me.
My smile disappeared, and he laughed. "There she is."
"What?" I snapped.
"You just looked so pleased with yourself."
I shrugged.
Fine. I was pleased with myself.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“You mean to tell me that you—a human—come to this district almost every night, stab whatever poor vampire bastards you come across, become mysterious savior to the innocent human civilians, and yet, despite spending almost half your fucking life here, you've never interacted with these people? Never gone to a pub? Never said a quick hello to one of your rescuees? Nothing?"
He said it like it was ridiculous, and that offended me.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“We're not here for that."
"Oh, hush, princess. We've been working so hard there's no one left to kill.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“I don't want to go back to the Moon Palace. I want the most absolutely fucking disgusting beer in town. I want foamy, sour, piss beer. And the place to get it is less than a block away. Ah ha!" His face lit up, and he jabbed his finger across the street as we rounded a corner, pointing to a rickety, half-rotted wooden sign that seemed to have once read "Sandra's", but now looked more like "Sa dr 's".”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“I want beer, not blood. Besides, why would I go on a hunting rampage after spending the last week and a half with you killing everyone who just did that?"
So fucking dismissive. "It isn't that simple."
"Why the hell not?”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“You're worried about my self-control? How sweet." He leaned close enough that I felt his words skitter over my cheek. I didn't know why I didn't move.
"I have plenty of self-control, Oraya," he murmured. "Don't you worry about me.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“I won't be flashing any dazzling grins, and they'll be none the wiser.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Oh. I see."
I blinked at him, already offended by whatever he was about to say next.
The smirk broadened to a grin. "You're scared. You're scared of a bunch of humans."
"No, I'm not." I said it just too-loud and too-quickly enough to confirm his suspicions.
"What are you so nervous about?" he said. "You're human too, for fuck's sake."
I scowled. "Not really."
He made a face. "Ix's tits. I wish you could have seen your expression then. I'm glad you're so proud of your heritage.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Fucking horrific," he said affectionately, as he slammed the mug down on the table. "It's perfect."
"Impressive," I said.
"Thank you. I've had plenty of practice drinking terrible alcohol.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Maybe I was right to distrust you in the beginning. You have so many different versions of yourself."
"Oh they're all me." Now it was his turn to give me that look—the kind that picked me apart. "Meanwhile, you look like someone has shoved you a pen with a bunch of lions. Do you actually have your hand on your blade right now?"
I yanked my fingers away from the hilt at my hip and placed my hands on the table. "No.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Do you miss it? Humanity?"
It was only after the question left my lips that I realized how oddly intimate it was. I thought he wouldn't answer. He was silent, watching the patrons laugh and drink.
"I miss the sun," he said at last.
And for a moment, he wore the same expression that he did when I would come back to the apartment at dawn to find him looking out the window, long after the light would have been eating at his skin.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“I took a sip of my beer. Thick bitterness flooded my mouth. I made a face, and Raihn laughed.
"Ugh. That's disgusting."
"Disgusting and amazing."
"Just disgusting."
"You have no taste, princess."
Despite myself, I chuckled. Maybe he had a point, because I took another sip.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Family?" I asked.
"In a sense. And I exhausted all other avenues. Joining this fucking barbaric spectacle was not high up on my list of things I wanted to do with my pathetic never-ending life." His mouth twisted into a wry smile. "I wouldn't even be here if Mische didn't force me into it."
My eyebrows leapt.
He chuckled and took another drink. "Look at that face. You thought I was the—what was your word?—brute who Turned Mische, carted her around Obitraes for a few hundred years, then dragged that poor, innocent little sunshine sprite halfway across the world to the bloodthirsty Kejari tournament, is that it?"
"Yes," I said, without hesitation. "Absolutely."
"That fucking girl." He shook his head. "No, this was all her idea. And she knew I'd never let her do it alone.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Then... why is she here?" I asked.
"Because she's a manipulative little thing," he grumbled, as if to himself.
"Manipulative?"
"Right. Like someone else I know. Trying to get me drunk so you can ask all kinds of invasive questions.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“You have balls, princess," he said. "I will give you that." Then he leaned across the table—so small compared to his frame that even that slight movement put him right in front of me.
"Here's the other thing I have never understood about you. Vincent."
I drew back, already defensive, every muscle tensed at the mere mention of his name.
"You're just some human girl," Raihn went on. "And the King of the Nightborn, well-known to be a cold, ruthless bastard, just... has a moment of compassion and decides to take you in? Why?"
His brow furrowed, and his eyes searched my face, like he was really looking for an answer to this question—and like he was already concerned on my behalf for what that answer might be. I glimpsed something in that expression, the faintest edge of something strangely familiar, gone in seconds.
"Of course," he continued, "I know some vampires have a taste for human sex, but—"
"Vincent is my father," I cut in, disgusted.
"Right. At least if he was fucking you, I could make sense of it. But by all accounts, including yours, he's not. So..."
If I wasn't offended, I would find it a bit funny that Raihn had the exact same thought about me and Vincent that I'd had about him and Mische.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“You're alright?" Raihn said into my ear.
I choked out, "You missed your chance to get rid of me."
I didn't think he was even capable of joking right now, with Mische in the state she was. So it seemed like some grim victory when, where my cheek pressed against his neck, I felt his throat vibrate with a raspy, humorless laugh. "Shame. I considered it."
I laughed, too, in a strange broken sound that was too high and too loud.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“I thought I was going to be too late." He leaned in close to me, his voice low and drawn. "What did you just do in there?"
What? I wanted to say, but the words stuck in my throat.
"The Nightfire." As if he heard it anyway. "You killed four demons.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Sometimes I thought Nyaxia must have a hell of a sense of humor. Did she word it that way, I wondered? Go build a temple to show me how much you love me. Make it nauseatingly beautiful. And then go inside of it and stare at the wall for fifteen hours at a time.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Could you—could you kneel in front of the bed, maybe?" I said. "You could lean on it."
"You implying I can't keep myself upright, princess?"
I wasn't implying anything. The minute I started stabbing. I was certain he'd double over and rip all the stitches out. Even if he had the pain tolerance of a statue. Statues would fucking crumble at that.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“I'll be sending you off into the human districts to bring me some of that piss beer after this."
"You'll have earned it," I said, and meant it.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“I let out a hiss through my teeth. How could I even begin to close these?
"That sounds promising," Raihn said.
"I just—I'm sorry for what I'm about to do to you."
"I'm glad your bedside manner is about as delicate as I would have expected.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“You want a warning?" I asked.
"Probably not—FUCK."
His hands clenched the bedspread as I poured the disinfectant over his back.
"I figured you were least expecting it then."
"You figured right," he grunted.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“They don't care," I said softly. "They never care."
"No. They never fucking care. And sometimes—" He tensed. Maybe because of the stitch. Maybe not. "Sometimes I'm ashamed to call myself one of them."
I don't want to watch you become one of them, Ilana had said to me. And until now—until this exact moment—I hadn't even thought about it as giving something up. Not until I heard the ache in Raihn's voice that had nothing to do with the wounds on his back.
"What was it like?" I asked. "Turning?"
"Ix's tits. Your beside manner really is awful, princess."
I could hear the expression on his face. My mouth tightened. Almost a smile.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“How does it look?" he asked.
I answered honestly. "Fucking awful."
He sighed. "Terrific.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Here. They won't heal you, but at least they'll help the pain enough for you to sleep."
I didn't know why I didn't remove my hand. Nor why I didn't step back, even though he was so close—close enough his body heat surrounded me.
I swallowed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that he did this to you."
"It isn't your fault."
Still. I felt it, even if I didn't know why.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“One honest thing, Oraya. Do you want a different partner for the Halfmoon Trial?"
I knew why he was asking. Because now it was just me and him. Because his back was destroyed. Because he couldn't use his wings.
"You could find one," he went on. "People died in the attack. They left partners behind. I would understand."
It surprised me that the answer was so clear, so immediate.
"Too late for that. You're stuck with me."
I watched his lips curl. The smile looked real. Different than the smirks.
"The lone human and the mangled vampire," he murmured. "The others should be trembling in pure fucking terror."
I surprised myself by returning it.
"They'd better."
My hand still lay over Raihn's calloused palm. His fingers curled around mine, as if in silent agreement.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Take care of yourself," I told her.
"You too. Keep feeding that shy magic." Her weak smile softened. "And... keep an eye on him, alright?"
She didn't need to specify who.
"He acts tough, but he needs someone. And he likes you."
No, he doesn't, I wanted to say. He shouldn't. The worst possible thing he could do is like me.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night